Kristen Bell is coming back to television! The Veronica Mars star, who followed that up with recurring roles on Heroes and Party Down, will star in the new comedy House of Lies on Showtime with Don Cheadle. Today the network officially picked up her series for a 12-episode first season.

The network also ordered a new hour-long drama, Homeland, starring Temple Grandin Emmy-winner Claire Danes and Life star Damian Lewis. This marks the first TV series appearance for Danes since My So-Called Life in 1995.

House of Lies is based on the book How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Tell You the Time by Martin Kihn and tells the story of a ruthless management consultant named Marty (Cheadle) and his smart young co-worker Jeannie (Bell). Bell previously worked with Showtime on the network's movie adaptation of the musical Reefer Madness. Cheadle might be better known for his dramatic work, but films like the Ocean's 11 series proved that he can be incredibly funny as well.

The show also stars another Heroes alum, Dawn Olivieri, who played the tattooed Lydia in season 4, and who currently plays reporter Andie Star on The Vampire Diaries.

Homeland, also picked up for a 12-episode season, stars Claire Danes as a CIA officer who becomes suspicious that reports of the rescue operation for a U.S. soldier (Lewis) were falsified and may be connected to a potential terrorist plot in the U.S. If that sounds a bit like something out of 24, it might be because the show is being produced by 24's Howard Gordon. Homeland also stars Mandy Patinkin as Danes' boss. Patinkin is no stranger to starring on Showtime series, as he was the lead on Dead Like Me.

House of Lies joins an increasingly large slate of Showtime comedies with Weeds, The Big C, United States of Tara, Nurse Jackie, Californication and Episodes. Homeland also helps to build up the dramatic side of Showtime, which has largely relied on the popularity of Dexter, but which has seen an increase in 2011 with Shameless and The Borgias.

Both House of Lies and Homeland begin production this summer, so fans can expect to see the shows in 2012.